Debates of April 30th, 2019

Intergovernmental Relations

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, across the country, people are speaking out against Bill C-69. This bill is bad for the Canadian economy, bad for natural resource development and bad for federal-provincial relations.

A few days ago, Quebec's environment and climate change minister, Benoit Charette, spoke out against this bill because it gives the federal government more control over provincial jurisdictions and it would duplicate assessment work. He said that it would be an uphill battle for developers.

Why is the government fighting with people who want to help our economy thrive?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, to the contrary, the piece of legislation the hon. member points to is designed to ensure that good projects go ahead and that we understand the consequences of bad projects so we can prevent them. This is about making sure that we pay attention to indigenous people to understand their perspective when we are assessing projects and about making sure that we fully understand the environmental consequences as projects go forward. Perhaps the Conservatives' failed record on the economy is because they did not take the process of environmental assessment seriously in 10 years in power.

This is not an anti-jobs bill. In fact, the Mining Association of Canada is behind this piece of legislation. It is designed to make sure that good projects can go ahead in an expeditious way.

Natural Resources

[Cathy McLeod, Conservative, Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo, BC]

Mr. Speaker, gas prices are sky high in Vancouver, reaching $1.70 a litre and more. Analysts believe that the construction of the Trans Mountain pipeline will ease a chronic shortage and force prices down. A year ago, the government bought the pipeline and promised immediate construction. Last week, the minister mused that it may not be until after the next election. “Immediate” means without delay, done at once, instant.

The Liberals spent $4.5 billion on a pipeline. Can they tell us when construction will begin?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, if members of the official opposition and the hon. member are really serious about this project continuing in the right way, they would not have voted to de-fund and kill the meaningful consultations we have undertaken with indigenous communities. We are focused on moving forward on this project in the right way, with meaningful consultation with indigenous communities, listening to their concerns and offering accommodations, and where accommodations are not possible, being very transparent about why accommodations are not possible. Our goal is to make a decision on this project by June 18.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Mr. Speaker, it has been over 11 months since the Prime Minister said, “We're going to get the pipeline built”, but Canadians did not know that what he meant was spending a quarter of a billion Canadian tax dollars for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to build pipelines in China. When the Liberals spent 4.5 billion tax dollars to buy the Trans Mountain pipeline, they promised that construction on the expansion would start “immediately”. Delaying the decision past June will cost taxpayers even more.

When will the Trans Mountain expansion be built?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, we are following the guidelines of the Federal Court of Appeal in order to ensure that we are moving forward on this project in the right way with meaningful consultation with indigenous communities. Those consultations are going really well. We have met with more than 100 communities. We have issued a draft consultation and accommodation report for indigenous communities to consider, and our goal is to make a decision on this project by June 18.

I will remind the hon. member again that if the Conservatives were really serious about this project, they should not have voted to de-fund and kill that process.

[Shannon Stubbs, Conservative, Lakeland, AB]

Look, Mr. Speaker, Canadians want the Liberals to invest their tax dollars in our own country, in Canada, to get Canadian resources to market, not build pipelines in Asia. The Liberals have deliberately killed two export pipelines already, and not a single inch of new pipeline is in service in Canada. Their no more pipelines bill, Bill C-69, will guarantee that none will be proposed in Canada ever again.

My question is very simple, and the minister should answer. When will the Trans Mountain expansion be built?

[Amarjeet Sohi, Liberal, Minister of Natural Resources]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely wrong. We have built and approved the Nova gas pipeline. We are the government that approved Enbridge Line 3, which has been fully completed on the Canadian side. We are the government that advocated for moving forward with the Keystone XL pipeline with the U.S. government. We are the government that invested $4.5 billion to save a pipeline from falling apart, an investment the Conservative Party voted against.

We are moving forward on this project in the right way. Our goal is to make a decision on this project by June 18.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

[Jenny Kwan, NDP, Vancouver East, BC]

Mr. Speaker, Amnesty International raised the alarm about the Liberal shift in public policy to cater to the alt-right.

In Central and South America, sexual violence is rampant. Children as young as seven are faced with forced recruitment, yet the alt-right is vilifying refugees. They call it white nationalism. The Minister of Border Security is feeding into it by calling refugees asylum shoppers. With Bill C-97, they cannot even apply for protection in Canada.

If the Liberals have the courage to stand by the right to remove, will they table those changes as a stand-alone bill in the House?

[Bill Blair, Liberal, Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction]

Mr. Speaker, later on today I will have the opportunity to meet with Amnesty International and provide it with assurances that our government remains committed to a fair and compassionate refugee system that will provide protection to those who need it most. I can also assure it that no person will be turned away if deemed to be at risk, and no one will be removed without an opportunity to be heard.

Public Safety

[Ruth Ellen Brosseau, NDP, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank all of the volunteers, soldiers, police officers, firefighters, public safety officials, municipal officials and everyone helping those affected by floods across Canada.

Things are really bad back home in Berthier—Maskinongé. Disasters will be happening more frequently as a result of climate change. The federal government created a $200-million fund for flood mapping, but Quebec has yet to ask for a penny.

Can the federal government assure us that the program is appropriate for the Government of Quebec and that it is setting money aside for the regions?

[Ralph Goodale, Liberal, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness]

Mr. Speaker, the program the hon. member refers to has been in existence over the last four or five years. It is coming to the final stages of its original term. We obviously have to examine with provinces the next steps that are necessary.

I agree with the member on flood mapping so that proper zoning decisions can be taken and proper infrastructure decisions can be taken. That is vitally important, and we will work with all our partners to make sure that appropriate resources and collaboration are available.

Ethics

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have been caught again peddling cash for access to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Innovation. In fact, it was a double violation of the Liberals' own law, because it involved a gifted ticket, illegal, given to the CEO of an American cannabis company, again, illegal access for an American who boasted online of his privileged access to pitch medical marijuana technology.

If the Prime Minister cannot abide by and respect his own ethical guidelines, why will he not respect the laws of Canada?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, as the member opposite well knows, this Parliament passed Bill C-50, which provides greater transparency for fundraising events. It includes the Prime Minister, ministers of the government as well as leaders of all the parties represented in the House of Commons.

This party, in fact, began to disclose that information even before the bill began to take effect. However, the party opposite did not.

[Peter Kent, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal excuses clearly do not wash. This is clearly yet another case of cash for access, another shameless Liberal claim that exposure of each of these illegal donations to the Liberal Party somehow proves Liberal transparency and accountability. This is Monty Python logic, and the Liberal ethical parrot is clearly dead.

Why is it so difficult for the Prime Minister to keep promises and respect the law?

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Minister of Democratic Institutions]

Mr. Speaker, on this side of the House, we believe that transparency is a good thing. In fact, that is why we introduced Bill C-50, to provide greater clarity and greater transparency for Canadians so that Canadians could clearly identify when fundraising events were taking place, whether it was with the Prime Minister, ministers or leaders of the opposition. It is important that they can also see who attended those events. We believe that is important.

We have delivered for Canadians, and we hope that all parties in the House will do that as well.

Justice

[Jacques Gourde, Conservative, Lévis—Lotbinière, QC]

Mr. Speaker, in reports on Liberal friends and made-to-measure contracts, La Presse and The Globe and Mail referred to a privileged communication dated August 14, 2017, between the law firm in question and the deputy minister in question concerning consultation services. It just so happened that the loyal Liberal donor was awarded the consultation contract, which had been written to reflect his skill set.

Can the minister confirm the nature of the privileged communication between McCarthy Tétrault and the deputy minister of Justice on August 14, 2017?

[David Lametti, Liberal, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada]

Mr. Speaker, while the Minister of Justice approves tenders, some approvals are delegated to the deputy minister and other senior Department of Justice officials. Regarding these two contracts, one was approved by my predecessor and the other by the deputy minister of Justice and deputy attorney general.

Contracting rules and policies were followed in the awarding of these two contracts.

National Defence

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, where the Conservatives stepped back, we promised to step up and re-engage on the world stage, and we are doing just that.

Canada is proudly acting on our NATO commitments to Latvia and Iraq, and we are supporting the peace process—

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Speaker, Geoff Regan]

Order, please. I know members are enjoying question period today, but we need to hear the question. I need to hear both the questions and the answers so I can hear whether there is some breach of the rules.

I would ask the hon. member for Mississauga—Lakeshore to start over again.

[Sven Spengemann, Liberal, Mississauga—Lakeshore, ON]

Mr. Speaker, we are proudly acting on our NATO commitments in Latvia and Iraq and we are supporting the peace process in Mali by providing life-saving medical evacuations to UN peacekeepers.

Could the Minister of National Defence please inform the House how, in addition to these efforts, our government has recently been contributing to international peace and security in the Middle East?

[Harjit S. Sajjan, Liberal, Minister of National Defence]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Mississauga—Lakeshore for his service with the United Nations in the Middle East.

Our government is helping to build long-term stability in the Middle East. In 2017, I announced our support for the construction and rehabilitation of a road along Jordan's northern border with Syria. Last week, I was in the region, and I am proud to say this project is under way. Through this project, we are bolstering the security of Jordan, an important security ally in the region.

Carbon Pricing

[Kelly Block, Conservative, Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek, SK]

Mr. Speaker, most Canadians do not live the privileged life of the Prime Minister, with 24-7 access to a government jet to fly him around for weekend cross-country surfing trips.

For middle-class Canadians, the Liberal's carbon tax is projected to add up to $600 on the cost of a flight for a family of four. Why is the Prime Minister forcing regular Canadians to pay exorbitant prices, while making the Canadian taxpayers cover his own vacation costs?

[Sean Fraser, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change]

Mr. Speaker, with respect, this government's mission from day one has been to ensure that we create an economy that works for everyone, not just for the wealthy few.

I question why the hon. member, when she had the opportunity to support the middle-class tax cut, instead voted against it. I am curious as to why, when the Canada child benefit was on the floor of the House of Commons, which put more money in the pockets of nine out of 10 Canadian families and stopped sending child care cheques to millionaires, she voted against it. I cannot help but point out that I have not received one question from a Conservative MP asking us to take more action on climate change.

We have to work to make sure the economy works for everyone and we can protect the environment at the same time. The Conservatives should get on board.